"Professional, caring, empathetic and a good place..."

I was admitted via AED through to MAU and then wd8 on the 3rd January 2012. I was impressed with the care I recieved from all levels of staff from the student nurses on their first day, qualified nursing and medical staff in AED to the staff and consultants in all dept. I was treated with empathy, understanding by all staff. Once assessed by the doctor in AED the speed of treatment, gentleness was lovely. I am concerned re the continuity of care with 3 different consultants being involved while in MAU and wd8.

The food was generally of good quality and served hot although this was not always the case.

I would recommend all 3 areas involved in my care to others.

What could be improved

One area of major concern is the apparent lack of pastoral care visitors, as a qualified pastoral carer I was concerned that no one visited the ward to talk to patients about how they were coping emotionally. Although I was a patient I spent a lot of time supporting others when I could and when I needed support spiritually and emotionally the nursing staff tried hard with little time available or comprehension of what I was going through, perhaps this is one area where improvements could be made. I volunteer, as do many others, at The Canberra Hospital on a weekly basis providing a valuable service to patients, staff and visitors.

On discharge none of my blood or X-ray results were given to me which I feel would also improve continuity as my local GP does not have access to the electronic system used. As I was visiting from overseas and needed to contact friends and an insurance company - staff knowledge of an international fax would have reduced my stress levels.

Responses

Thank you for these comments. We are pleased to note that you were happy with the clinical and nursing care you received. Spiritual care is accessible through the hospital chaplaincy service for a range of faiths; contact is usually facilitated by the ward and we can only apologise that this service was not made available.

We note the comments regarding discharge information and appreciate this feedback